Self-regulating air-pump.



No. 813,982. PATENTEDFEB. 27,1906.

" M. LOBWENSTBIN.

SELF REGULAT ING AIR PUMP. APPLICATION FILED APR.14. 1905.

z I J6 0! J6 za Z6 22 M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAXMILIAN LOEWENSTEIN, OF BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS TO JONAS STORK, OF BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, AND MAURICE KIND,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEKLF-REGULATING AIR-PUMP.

Patented Feb. 27, 1906.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAXMILIAN LOEWEN- STEIN, a subject of the King of Belgium, residing at Brussels, Belgium, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Regulating Air-Pumps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in self-regulating air-pumps designed more especially for use with carbureters, although it is by no means restricted to such a use.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple, easily-operated, and economical airpumpone that will regulate itself and act au tomatically after having once been wound up.

With this object in view my invention consists in the construction and combinations-of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.-

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved air-pump. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in cross-sec: tion, of one of the valves for the upper part of the bell. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a cross section of a portion of the reservoir, showing the valves therein; and Fig. 5 is a face View of one of the valve-plates.

1 and 2 represent tanks, which are connected, by means of the pipes 4 and 5, with the reservoir 3. The pipes 4 and 5 are bent upwardly inside of the tanks 1 and 2, extending approximately to the top thereof.

6 and 6 represent extensions on the reservoir 3, in which are mounted the checkvalves, which will be hereinafter described.

Within the tanks 1 and 2 are located the bells 7 and 8, which rise and fall in said tanks, as hereinafter described, a water seal being provided. These tanks each have a valve on top (numbered 9 and 10 on the drawings) of the construction shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3, which automatically open when the bells rise and close when they fall.

11 represents a cranked shaft, which carries a sprocket-wheel 12, which is connected, by means of a sprocket-chain, to a sprocketwheel 13, mounted on the shaft or On the shaft 20 is loosely mounted a drum 14,on which is wound a cord 15, which after passing over a series of compound pulleys and 51 is.-.connected to a weight 16. The

arbor 20..

[ upper pulley 50 is supported, by means of a l cord 52, from the frame 53, which forms a part of the supporting-frame. This frame 54 is preferably made of gas-pipe jointed together and provided with various cross connections and projections, as shown in Fig. 1, built which it is unnecessary to describe in detai 17 represents a ratchet-wheel mounted on the shaft 20, and 18 represents a pawl engaging said ratchet, which pawl is mounted on a disk 19, carried by the shaft 20. This shaft is mounted in bearings and 56, carried by the main frame.

On the shaft 20 are loosely mounted two sprocket-wheels 21 and 22, each of which is provided with a sprocket-chain which runs to rods 38 and 39, respectively, which rods are fastened to the top of the bells 7 and 8. These sprocket-chains are fastened in holes in the top of the rods, and it is obvious that the revolution of the sprocket wheels in the proper direction will raise the bells. These sprocket-wheels are provided with ratchetfaces 23 and 24, respectively, which face each other, and they are adapted to be engaged by the projecting teeth 25 26 on the sliding pulleys 27 and 28, respectively. These pulleys are mounted on the shaft 20 by means of feathers, so as to revolve therewith, but so that they can be slid back and forth freely thereon, and they are provided with grooves 29 30, with which engage the forks 31 and 32 of the sliding plate 33, which rests upon a series of antifriction-rollers 57 and is operated at the proper time by the fall of one or the other of the bells.

35 represents a lever centrally pivoted at 36 on the supporting-frame and carrying an upwardly-projecting arm 37, which is pivoted to the plate 3 It is obvious that the movement of the lever will slide the plate 33 in one direction or the other. 5 At each end the arm or lever 35 is provided with a hook, to which hooks are fastened the cords 40 and 41, respectively, and on each of these cords are The cord 40 passes over pulleys 42, mounted on projections on the main frame, and is connected to a hook 43 on the top of the hell 7. Similarly the cord 41 passes overpulleys 42 and is connected to a hook on the top of the bell 8.

loosely mounted weights 44 and 44.

The valves 9 and 10 are shown in detail on an enlarged scale in Figs. 2 and 3. They consist of two plates and 46, preferably of metal, and each of which is perforated, as shown at 47, and a thin disk of rubber 48 located between them. The plate 45 is flat, and the plate 46 is curved, and the two plates, with the intervening sheet of rubber, are pivoted together at the center by the rivet 49, as shown in Fig. 2. It is obvious that as the bell falls the rubber sheet 48 will be thrown back against the plate 45, preventing the air from escaping from the bell, and as the bell rises it will be thrown down against the plate 46, whereupon the air enters around the edges of said plate into the tank, the casing of the valves being beveled, as shown in Fig 1.

58 and 59 represent pins which limit the upward movement of the bells 7 and 8. These are shown in Fig. 1 as adjustably mounted in the main frame 54; but any suitable means for limiting this upward movement may be employed.

The rods 38 and 39 are mounted on the tops of the bells 7 and 8, respectively. They pass through guides 60 and 61, respectively carried in any suitable extensions of the main frame, such as 62 and 63. (Shown in Fig. 1 as fastened to the tanks 1 and 2 and to the main frame.)

Within the extensions 6 and 6 are mounted two check-valves, which are pivoted on their upper edges and extend downwardly over the pipes 4 and 5, respectively, for the purose of preventing any backflow of air into either of the bells 7 or 8 as it rises. These check-valves are constructed as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and consist of two perforated plates 64 and 65 with a thin sheet of rubber 66 between them, the operation of these .valves being substantially the same as that of the valves 9 and 10.

67 represents the air-delivery pipe, shown I as located on the top of the reservoir 3 and through which the air is delivered to a carbureter or any desired point.

The operation is as follows: By means of the crank-handle 11 the weight 16 is raised by winding up the cord 15 on the drum 14. On account of the compound pulleys this is an easy task, although in practice the weight 16 is very heavy. The pawl-and-ratchet mechanism 17 18 prevents any backward movement of the drunr 14, which is loosely mounted on the shaft 20. As the bell 8, for example, falls it gradually pulls up the cord When' the slack of this cord between the pulleys 42 has been taken up, a further fall of the bell pulls down the pivot-arm 35, which shifts the plate 33, throwing the teeth 26 into engagement with the teeth on the ratchet-face 24, whereupon the weight 16 causes the shaft 20 to revolve rapidly, pulling up thebell 8 until it strikes the pin 59, which stops the motion of the shaft 20. At

the same time that the bell 8 begins to rise the bell 7 begins to fall, as the same shifting movement which has caused the teeth 26 to engage with the teeth on'the ratchet-face 24 has disengaged the teeth 25 from the ratchetface 23. Therefore as soon as one bell has reached its downward limit of motion it is at once raised by the operation of the weight 16 by the means already described, and the other bell is released, this operation being automatic and depending for its speed upon the amount of air drawn out from the reservoir 3. This action continues until the weight 16 has run down, when by means of the. handle 11 it is wound up again, and the operation proceeds as before.

I have shown in the drawings two bells; but it is obvious that any desired number may be used; and I do not confine myself to the exact details shown and described, since it is obvious that the construction might be varied greatly without departing from the principle of my invention, the main feature of which is the self-re ulating means, which when one bell has fallen to its lowest position releases another bell and lifts the fallen bell to its highest position, the o eration continuing until the weight runs own, and all but one of the bells being locked while the remaining bell is falling and until it reaches its lowest position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of-a series of bells, means for lifting said bells alternately and automatically, and connections whereby the fall of one bell immediately causes it to be lifted and at the same time releases another bell, substantially as described.

2. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of a series of tanks, a valved bell in each tank, means for limiting the upward movement of said bell, and automatic means whereby the fall of one bell immediately causes it to be lifted and at the same time releases an adjacent. bell, substantially as described.

3. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of a series of tanks, a reservoir connected to said tanks, a gravity-bell located in each of said tanks, means for lifting said bells, means for limiting the upward movement of said bells, and means whereby the fall of one bell causes said bell to be lifted and at the same time releases an adjacent bell allowing it to fall, substantially as described.

4. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of a series of tanks, a reservoir connected to said tanks, and a check-valve between said reservoir and each of said tanks, a series of gravity-bells, one located in each of said tanks and each provided with an automatic valve at or near its top, means for lifting said bells, means for limiting the upward movement of said bells, and automaticallyoperated means whereby the fall of one bell causes it to be at once lifted and at the same time releases an adjacent bell, allowing it to fall, substantially as described.

5. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of a series of tanks, a valved gravitybell in each tank, operating means for lifting each bell, means for limiting the upward movement of each bell, and shifting mechanism operated by the fall of the bells respectively whereby the fall of one bell causes it at once to be lifted by the operating means and simultaneously releases an adjoining bell allowing it to fall, substantially as described.

6. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of a series of tanks, a valved bell in each tank, a weight-operated shaft, connections whereby the rotation of said shaft lifts said bells alternately, means for limiting the movement of said bells, and shifting mechanism located on said shaft, whereby the fall of one bell causes it to be immediately lifted by said shaft, and at the same time releases an adjoining bell allowing it to fall, substantially as described.

7. In a self-regulating pump, the combination of two tanks, a valved bell in each tank, a weight operated shaft, sprocket wheels on said shaft cannected to said bells respectively, means for limiting the upward movement of each bell, and shifting mechanism whereby the fall of either bell immediately causes it to be lifted by the operation of said shaft, and at the same time releases the other bell allowing it to fall, substantially as described.

8. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of two tanks, a valved bell in each tank, a weight operated shaft, sprocketwheels loosely mounted on said shaft, and connected to said bells respectively, shifting mechanism adapted to engage said sprocketwheels alternately, and an operating-lever connected to said shifting mechanism and to said bells, whereby the fall of either bell causes it to be lifted at once and at the same time releases the other bell, allowing it to fall, substantially as described.

9. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of two tanks, a valved bell in each tank, a weight-operated shaft, two sprocketwheels loosely mounted on said shaft and connected to said bells respectively, sliding pulleys mounted on said shaft, a sliding frame for operating said pulleys, and a compound lever for operating said frame, one end of said lever being operated by the fall of either of said bells, substantially as described.

10. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of two tanks, a valved bell in each tank, an operating-shaft, sprocket-wheels loosel mounted on said shaft and connected to said bells respectively, a drum loosely mounted on said shaft, a cord mounted on said drum, a weight attached to said cord, ratchet mechanism between said drum and said shaft, means for winding up said drum, and shiftable clutch devices adapted to engage said sprocket-wheels successively, said devices being shifted by the fall of any one of said bells substantially as described.

11. In a self-regulating air-pump, the combination of two tanks, a reservoir connected thereto, a valved bell in each tank, an operating-shaft, sprocket-wheels loosely mounted on said shaft and connected to said bells respectively, said sprocket-wheels being provided with ratchet -faces, pulleys slidably mounted on said shaft, and means for shifting said pulleys, consisting of a plate provided with forks engaging said pulleys, a compound lever engaging said plate, and a cord extending from each end of said lever to said bells respectively, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MAXMILIAN LOEWEN STEIN Witnesses:

ALPHoNsE LISSNER, A. L. HOUGH. 

